The job of maintaining and cleaning commercial, industrial, institutional and public buildings is a difficult and demanding task in the best of circumstances. Where floors or other hard surfaces are concerned, particularly high-traffic areas, the job seems never-ending. It is both time-consuming and physically-intensive in many cases. Where multiple solutions are needed to clean, strip, wash, wax and seal a surface, an individual may have to fill and clean a dispensing bucket numerous times. The necessary solutions for these chores are typically premixed and sold in original large bulk containers, such as five gallon buckets or five gallon bag-in-a-box (BIB) containers, each weighing more than 50 lbs.
Workers are required to lift the heavy solution containers to a height of about three feet and pour the contents into a different wheeled-bucket, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,378 to Robinson. Where a very large surface (e.g., a school gymnasium) needs to be cleaned, stripped, sealed, and waxed, an individual would have to go through the steps of lifting, pouring, applying, refilling and cleaning out the wheeled-bucket several times over a period of time. In addition to the considerable time lost to cleaning and refilling the bucket, this strenuous activity can easily lead to work injury as well.
Further, there are environmental problems caused by the prior art system and processes. Many cleaning solutions contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are characterized as having a high vapor pressure and a low water solubility. Once a solution of this kind is poured into a secondary container, such as shown in the '378 Robinson patent, it cannot be returned to the original container without contamination. It is very likely that, while not a promoted practice in the industry, the leftover solution is either poured down a sink drain or dumped outside where it can easily travel to areas and become a poison to greenery, as well as to animals and human water supplies. Even if properly disposed of, residual solution which must be cleaned from the secondary container may still have significant short and long term environmental impacts.
Until the invention of the present application, these and other problems in the prior art went either unnoticed or unsolved by those skilled in relevant art. The present invention provides a unique solution which will (1) save considerable time, (2) help prevent injury of workers due to fatigue, and (3) significantly reduce negative environmental impact caused by disposal of cleaning solutions, all without sacrificing simplicity features, design, style or affordability.